That's NOT How It Happened
by A Fire Nation Citizen
Summary: All the scenes in the ember island plays re-written five years post-comet when Zuko is twenty-two. The play shows Firelord Zuko in an inaccurate, unnaturally positive light. Two friends watch the play and comment on this.
1. Chapter 1 (Act 1 Part 1)

The play began in front of the curtain with the Actor-Sokka and Actor-Katara already standing in front of the iceberg and considering opening it.

"They really sped that up this time," A man sitting in the front row remarked quietly to his friend.

"Huh," she replied, "I wonder what for; the play is the same length." Her friend who was dressed in blue just shrugged.

When they reached the water tribe, the curtain was raised and there was a village. The village looked a lot like the water tribe had before, except for one very important difference: the men. There were something like ten, which was a lot for that space. The water-tribe viewer's jaw dropped, and he frowned.

"WHAT?!" He said, a bit too loudly, provoking several of the people around them to shush him. The play continued and there was Zuko's ship in the distance. Actor-Sokka pointed it out, and all of the men got ready for battle. The man in blue just shook his head.

"I_ wish_ there had been that many people left," he muttered. Zuko's ship was closer now and suddenly there was a change in the lighting as a group of soldiers, including a very buff young man who seemed to be in charge, stepped off of Zuko's ship.

"Is that-" The water tribe boy started to ask his companion while obviously trying to hold back a laugh. The girl next to him was smiling in a confused, but amused sort of way.

"Wait…I saw that guy behind there… that big buff guy was _Zuko_!?" Then the fighting started. It became obvious now that the young man was in fact Prince Zuko. It became obvious now why there were so many water tribe men. The buff Prince Zuko actor, who was standing in the front of his men, bent a huge wall of fire at the water tribe warriors, knocking out slightly more than half of the men in one blow. Actor-Zuko was easily the best fighter on both sides. The young woman looked skeptical.

"Is this supposed to be realistic?" The young woman asked her friend.

"I'm not sure… it isn't though..." He replied quietly, frowning. Then someone who obviously was supposed to be Zuko's uncle came off the ship and stopped Actor-Zuko from blasting someone. Actor-Iroh told Actor-Zuko that there was a better way. Actor-Zuko then "spared them" and demanded that they hand over the Avatar, who was much smaller than Prince Zuko was.

Meanwhile Actor-Sokka hit Prince Zuko in the back of the head with his boomerang as Prince Zuko walked away. The overly buff Zuko didn't even notice. The crowd laughed at Actor-Sokka's face as Actor-Zuko acted as if the boomerang had just been a fly. The real Sokka's jaw dropped.

Toph burst out laughing as the curtain fell. "WHAT was THAT? I am sure that it didn't happen that way. Sparky was not _that good_ back then was he?"

"Yah," Sokka said, "he wasn't even _good_ at all. Get it?" Sokka smiled half-heatedly at the double meaning.

Sokka sighed and went back to looking cross. "Where is my humor; I had almost no lines! Why was there so much… Zuko in it; I thought this play was supposed to be about Aang. My boomerang is better than that!"

Toph, who was still laughing, and Sokka, who was still grumbling, were both shushed again by their neighbors.


	2. Chapter 2 (Act 1 Part 2)

In act one, scene two Aang and Katara found Momo the flying "lemur-rabbit," and then the lemur bit Sokka on the foot.

"Only slightly more accurate than last time," Sokka commented. Toph said nothing, just smiled. On Kyoshi Island Sokka and Suki had a brief romance, ending when Zuko's invasion started. Once the tanks rolled in, however, this changed.

"Wait tanks? When did Zuko ever have _tanks_?" Toph wanted to know.

"Never" said Sokka, "they're playing this up _waaaay_ too much." Suki ran from sokka's arms and into Zuko's, and said something dramatic about how he was "handsome and manly" and that she always dreamed of a prince to take her away. Sokka reached into his package of fire gummies threw a hand full at the actor.

"Get your own girlfriend!" Sokka yelled. Toph grabbed him by firmly by the arm, and forcefully pulled him back into his seat.

"Sokka, be quiet it's not_ real_, idiot."

"I know," Sokka whined, "but still… ow, Toph." To Sokka's relief, as Aang went into the avatar state and blasted zuko and his men off the island, Actor-Suki betrayed Zuko. Suki knocked out Zuko and his uncle, and then tried to sink the ship.

At the end of the scene a heart-broken zuko says that everyone who he loves hurts him and the lights focused on his scar. Most of the audience let out sympathetic "aws." One fire nation woman even dried a tear and said quietly to a friend, "his father gave him that scar you know…" The other Fire nation citizen nodded and agreed it was sad.

"Oh brother," Toph muttered under her breath.

Act one finished at the northern water tribe with Aang and Katara suddenly having mastered water-bending. The scene continued just as it had last time, but with better Sokka-jokes; Sokka was finally starting to enjoy it. Toph was bored.

Actor-Zuko called after Zhao that he was an embarrassment to the fire nation, and the audience egged the Zuko-Actor on as he attacked Zhao. Buff-Zuko had a brief fight with Zhao after which he pushed Zhao at Actor-Aang who destroyed him along with the fleet.

The audience cheered often during this scene, especially when Zhao was destroyed. As the curtain fell for intermission, the light focused first on Aang and then on Zuko. Aang dramatically said that he wished he didn't have to do this, but he did what he had to do to protect the water tribe. Katara came up to Aang and kissed him deeply on the lips "because he gave her so much hope." The real Sokka gagged.

Actor Sokka then tried to attack Zuko, but Zuko pushed him slightly and he fell down to the other part of the stage.

"Again?! What is with you people!" Sokka and Toph exclaimed in unison. The real Sokka threw his entire half-empty package of fire-gummies at the Zuko-actor who, again tried to ignore it.

The Zuko-actor then gave a short speech about how sad it was to see his country destroying the world, but that the avatar must be captured because of what he has done to the firenation. His uncle then said "Come on Prince Zuko, I found a raft, lets follow the Avatar."


	3. Chapter 3 (Intermission 1)

As soon as the two got up, Toph quickly and effortlessly metal-bent their chairs out of shape to save their seats. Sokka and Toph made their way out into the large aria where snacks were being sold. Sokka immediately got in line for fire gummies.

"Five packages." Sokka told the man at the counter, who him looked at him in surprise.

"Did you say _five?!" _The vender looked at Sokka disbelievingly, wondering why this candy-addict was not ten sizes larger.

"Well okay then" said the vender in a don't blame me' tone of voice.

Toph was sitting on a wall messing with a very unhappy looking young nobleman who couldn't seem to figure out why he kept tripping and spilling his fire flakes on the floor. Every other step he took, Toph would bend the earth and metal on the ground up enough to make him trip and then back down before he could see it. The innocent looking blind earth bender smirked as the man, having spilled the last of his snack, began cursing and brushing the last crumbs of his now crushed snack from his expensive robes.

"I have my gummies," Sokka told Toph, "lets go back… What are you doing?" Toph was sitting very still and tapping her finger against the wall.

"The play isn't starting for a while yet." Toph informed him. "The actors are all still back stage." She was not watching the fire flake-noble anymore, having found a new victim.

"Look at that guy with the box of sizzle-crisps." Toph said suddenly. "I'm going to… wait for it…" Sokka had a confused look on his face and looked around for the one Toph was talking about.

"You mean the one walking up to that girl. What are you-"

"Don't point Sokka, he might notice us." Toph snapped. There was a subtle movement in the earth under the man, only someone waiting for the mini-earthquake would have noticed, and he fell. Yelling in surprise he toppled to the ground, causing his snack to drench his now angry wife.

"Daiki! You are so clumsy! What…" The wife began complaining to her bemused looking husband. There _had _been an earthquake, he insisted to his crisp-drenched wife. The rest of her anger faded off, as the two friends walked away from the scene, trying to keep from laughing. It was an immature thing for two adults to be doing, but some people never outgrow childhood completely.*

Once they were over their laughter Toph noticed Sokka's gummies.

"Are you planning on eating_ all_ of those?" Toph asked.

"Why? Do you want some?" Sokka asked. "I was planning on eating some, but I probably need extra. I ran out very surprisingly fast last time."

"If you get arrested for disturbing the peace, I'm not helping you." Toph announced, folding her arms, thinking of the reason the candy disappeared 'surprisingly fast.'

The two spend most of the rest of the first intermission eating fire-gummies, pranking people, and remembering old earth bending scams.

Toph took a container of gummies from Sokka as they entered the theater, leaving three for Sokka. And the actors.

*When I wrote this I suddenly remembered how Toph still called Aang by his nickname, probably to annoy him.


End file.
